I missed my first birthday...

Gosh, it's been way too long!  I can't believe I missed the first birthday of my little blog, and I really can't believe that it is now over a year since I started it!  Anyway, for all you lovely people who visit here from time to time (EDMers etc) I would like to offer a little **GIVEAWAY** as a way of saying thank you for all the support and comments and, well for just quietly reading my ramblings over the last twelve months.  It is all very much appreciated you know.  The main part of the giveaway will be a set of three of my polar bear cards...

...they have been left blank so you can use them for anything really, just as a snail mail treat to send a friend, who doesn't like snail mail from time to time?  I will also add something 'Yorkshire' to the package and, after everything I said in my last post about Mail Art, I will add a little artwork to the parcel itself, just to make things a little more interesting!  If you approve and fancy owning the eclectic collection just leave me a comment here.....  I will draw a name from a (Santa) hat on Saturday 11th December.

Sadly I still don't really have much finished artwork to offer up at the moment, but not because of lack of inspiration this time thank goodness - rather a case of life getting in the way.  I do have these little tomato sketches, not the most exciting subject but I just loved the colours and had to have a go at painting them.  Really good fun and all good watercolour practice!  They cover EDM 24 - because technically they are fruit, right?



I am also working on this little fella, a snowy fox.  I started him a few weeks ago, with the intention of creating another Christmas card - then life intervened.  I'll try to get him finished this weekend though, no excuses - I'm on my own, then maybe I could at least make up some cards to share with family and friends this year.  Hey, if I get it finished I'll add one to my giveaway!  Here he is in his half finished state:



...pop back soon and he'll be here all finished :o)

Once again here in the UK we are in the grips of icy, snowy wonderfulness.  This has meant that for three days the school I work at has been closed, which means things must be really bad because our school hardly ever closes!!  After two days of horrendous car journeys at the start of the week though, I'm just grateful I didn't have to struggle in - I have also had a streaming cold, you know the type where you feel really, really ill but you can't justify time off work?  So, luckily I have been able to stay tucked up and warm and today I am feeling much more myself, though with a bright red nose and still unable to move more than 6 feet away from a box of hankies!

Oh, and Scout thinks the snow is marvellous!



Hope you are all cold free and keeping happy!  Back soon, L xx

Snail mail, balloons, Wild Things, and tomatoes

I’m at home this week and feel it is definitely time I posted something on my blog. I have lots of little things I thought I would share today, here goes:

Since my last post I received a card from Alex Tan featuring one of his wonderful pictures.....



It’s such a treat receiving something like this via snail mail and even more so when it is from someone I have got to know through the EDM group who shares a love of art. I could really get into this whole swapping artwork thing.  Mmm, I’ve been trying to think of something to celebrate my first ‘Blogaversary’ – watch this space. In the meantime a small parcel is winging it’s way East from here in sunny Yorkshire, just a little something to thank Alex :o) x

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I had produced a painting of a flower that I hoped would be used in some way to raise money at a memorial event for one of my work colleagues who died over the summer.  Well, on Sunday November 14th we are going to have an event at the school – a balloon race. The balloon that travels the furthest will win a prize for it’s owner. All the money raised at the event will go to charity and to pay for a permanent memorial at school – an outdoor, flower-filled classroom which should be beautiful.  I have produced a one-off necklace that will be auctioned, and a print of the flower will be signed, framed and also auctioned.



I’m so glad I decided to paint that gerbera, it’s great to know it might raise some extra funding. I will take pictures and post here to let you know how the event goes.

As far as my Wild Things are concerned things are ticking over slowly, but surely. I’m certainly getting lots of lovely feedback! I have decided that as I am at home this week I will remove all postal charges from my items, to anywhere in the world until noon (GMT) on Saturday, October 23rd. I figure a little saving is always good in the lead up to Christmas! I have also had my polar bear printed up onto cards and he looks quite smart so they are now available to purchase.



If I can complete the new ‘snowy fox’ painting I have started this week hopefully he’ll be arriving in the shop in one form or another very soon.  Also, a lovely lady has also requested a small, silver pendant version of my wolf – it’s taken me ages to get him to fit the charm! Hope she likes him.

I am also finishing lots of experiments I have been doing with my soldered items and patinas, and in making my own copper findings!!! Never a dull moment!!! My poor old fingernails are shot to pieces though!

Anyway, as a shameless plug... do pop across and have a look in my little shop, you never know, a Christmas treat might be lurking there just waiting for the right person to come along!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/WildThingsPurcell

Today I decided to start working in my new A4 Moleskine - though I have stuck a sheet of watercolour paper onto the page I am working on as I am painting a series of little pictures of some beautiful tomatoes my lovely neighbour Colin has given me.  They are all different colours and shapes, such simple things and yet so pretty.  All good observational practice.  In fact, I shall finish off here now and do some more before the light starts to fail (must buy me a new work lamp this year).

Oh, and finally, remember I sent in a piece of art to the ‘Mail Me Art 2’ project?   Well, the book is finally out and my piece made it into the tome – albeit in a little corner of a page – but I’m really chuffed!!! I really enjoyed taking part in that project, it was great having a goal to work towards. 

Mmm, mail art – now how about that as an idea to get us all communicating via snail mail as well as over the Interweb? That could be a fun thing to do as a Blogaversary event...... Mmm, I’ll have a think and get back to you on that one   :o)

My mind went completely blank



I can't believe it's been so long since my last post!  Even longer since I posted any finished art work.  This has been down to a mix of 'life happening' and creative block.  For the last few weeks I have hardly sketched or painted or created anything, apart from that is, the painting of this pink gerbera flower, and this has a sad tale behind it. 

As many of you may know I work as a professional librarian in a school.  The school is made up of a primary and grammar school and part of my role is teaching library skills classes to the junior pupils.  The best part of the job!  Through the last academic year I worked with and got to know a lovely young teacher, in fact during the summer term we began to make plans to start a junior book club - coming up with lots of fun ideas for the kids to do - us too.  I knew at the time that she had not been feeling too well, food allergies she thought.  Then two weeks before the end of term she was diagnosed with stomach cancer and, unbelievably on August 18th I attended her funeral.  She had just had her 31st birthday, it doesn't really compute.  I was really only just getting to know her but I have really felt her loss.  I think we could have been good friends.  I can't imagine how her close family and friends must feel.

Anyway, all her colleagues who attended the funeral wore a pink gerbera buttonhole. It had been her specific wish that we all wore bright colours, especially pink (her favourite).  The day after the funeral I decided to paint this picture of her flower, just because it looked so pretty and because I wanted to remember how it looked.  Now I am about to make a set of pendants using the image to help to raise some money in her memory, and the junior school have decided to use the image for their fundraising campaign in her memory - how cool is that?  I'll let you know how things go.

Apart from that I seem to have started more pictures than I have finished and really have struggled with motivating myself.  I can't give a particular reason I'm afraid, it's just how it has been.  Well, last weekend I couldn't sit down and work on some jewellery pieces as I'd planned because I had ended up in A&E on Saturday morning with a scratch on my left eye  :0(   however, this Thursday gone I did manage to finish a sketch I had started on a beach, Hunmanby Gap on the Yorkshire coast in July.  It's pretty basic but I'm happy with it.  Wonderful beach too - I always manage to find lots of fossils there :0)  I also did a bit more work on a coloured pencil piece I did to illustrate EDM # 161 Draw something you think smells wonderful - I will definitely get this finished, hopefully tomorrow and post it here.  Oh and I managed to list a few more pieces in my Etsy shop so not too bad a day I suppose!

Anyway - here's the beach picture which I will say is EDM # 100 Draw or paint a landscape:



I promise I shall be pulling my finger out in the next few weeks and getting some more work done.  I have ordered myself a new A4 Moleskine sketchbook and a book to inspire me on digital artwork so no excuses!!  I'd be interested to know what you people reading this do to try to overcome any creative block!

And if the last few weeks haven't been the kick in the pants I needed to remind me that life is just too damn short to dither about, well I don't know what would remind me, do you?

Racing around to come up behind you again....

It's weeks since my last post and next week it's mid-summer.  How does it happen?  This year it seems scary how quickly time is passing!!

The last few weeks have been a real 'uppy-downy' time, I had my first Etsy sale (hurrah) then went away and had a fantastic few days in London and Paris.  Came home, back to the proper job then, completely wiped out by some kind of virus.  I won't go into details - it involved sinuses.  Got myself back in the saddle yesterday, feeling much, much better, so today I am up bright and early and I fully intend to get the creativity back on track.

In my last post I mentioned (& posted a photo) of a fungus I had found on a walk in the woods.  On our first day in London we went to the British Museum and look what I came across:

Now, I know this picture is a little obscure... I took it with my phone, but it is an ancient piece of 'bracket' or 'horse hoof' fungus, found in Yorkshire (yay!) dating back thousands of years.  This piece was deliberately cut to be used as tinder.  Evidently once lit, the fungus has very slow, steady and reliable burning properties.  The fungus is still used today for the same thing.  So the next time you are camping in the middle of nowhere and need fire lighters, here's the fungus you need....!  The black 'roll' in front of the fungus by the way.... is an equally ancient roll of birch bark that someone had prepared also for lighting a fire.  Clever ancient Yorkshire people!  I'm sure I've oversimplified this, and some of you may have nodded off - not having the same fungal fascination as I.

What can I say about Paris?  We had the best weather possible (we always do... if you want guaranteed fab holiday weather just ask when and where I will be and get yourself booked in).  I have trecked through Paris several times, schlepping between train stations with heavy rucksack on my way to somewhere else, but had never stopped in and around Paris.  We spent four days hammering the Metro tickets and visited every site we wanted to see.

 

Here's the obligatory - 'look at me I'm definitely in Paris' picture!!

The one place we spent time looking at and going into was Notre Dame Cathedral.  What a stunning place (so stunning you get three shots)...

Another place we visited was Pere Lachaise Cemetery, final resting place of Great and Good such as Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Edif Piaf.  I love cemeteries... this place is amazing.  We only really had a couple of hours at the end of our second day, but we found Jim:

and Oscar:

...all covered in lipstick kisses.  Some think this is vandalism but I kind of think Oscar would approve - if he could.

The narrow lanes of mausolea here are simply fascinating and to my mind quite beautiful.  I love these places - if you visit London, treat yourself to an alternative day out and go to Highgate Cemetery.  The lengths people and families will go to the memorialise themselves and / or their loved ones is quite extraordinary.

Then I found this family tomb and found myself particularly drawn (I don't know why) to the amazing figures guarding the door...

And what did I find when I looked through the door?  'Do, do, do, do. Do, do do, do.' (to the tune of the Twilight Zone theme if you will)...

My initials... such beautiful stained glass, amazing! 

Right, I'm off to do what I said at the start and get my creative day under way.  Watch this space for sketches I produced on my travels... I haven't had time to scan them yet.

Thanks to everyone for all your continued interest in my blog and the lovely comments you leave for me!  A big hello to lovely new people who keep popping up too.. thank you for joining in! xx

P.S.   I have just updated an Etsy treasury I started before my hols... do nip over and have a look - there is some lovely work and you might recognise some pieces by other people there!!!   ;o)  x

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bfe9b748ccc8eef382fadc7/if-you-go-down-to-the-woods-today

If you go down to the woods today.....

I have to share this link with everyone as this website has been captivating me for weeks now.  It is a WildEarth TV channel - a webcam that is set up in the den of a hibernating black bear called Lily and her little (extremely demanding) baby Hope.  They live in a place called Ely in Northeastern Minnesota, USA.   This link comes with a warning however - if you look you WILL be hooked, and if your'e hooked, you'll get nothing else done!!!!

This is Lily - photograph taken from the Wild Earth website.

http://www.wildearth.tv/static/wildearth/channels/we_bear_den.html

This kind of website is what makes the internet a wonderful thing, how fantastic is it that I can sit here in my little Yorkshire house in the north of England watching a black bear and her cub live in the wild on a different continent?!!  Enjoy!!

Oh and I'll be back very soon with some new artwork, L xx

The best things in life are free...

... but art supplies are not unfortunately!  I have been very naughty today though and treated myself to a new batch of supplies, some new gouache and acrylic paints and various sundries.  I'm preparing for my week off next week, when I intend to spend lots of time sketching and painting - please don't let me get a mental block!!!  I will post images of my efforts here.  I am hoping (finally) to prepare some bits and pieces to sell too, hopefully as a means to at least try and pay for the materials I have bought!  I'm feeling very fired and inspired.

This has been helped by the re-discovery of an artist I had come across vaguely years ago and then, I am ashamed to say, had not thought about much.  However watching an obscure little art programme on TV last night, this man was featured and I totally fell in love with his work.  Not least because there are some beautiful images of The Peoples Republic of Yorkshire!  The artist is John Piper, I'm sure you will already know about him.  I have been researching his work on the internet all morning and love it.  Am very tempted to be extremely naughty and order a book I have found about him and his work.  I am offering a couple of images here which are from the website The Art of John Piper

Conisbrough, Yorkshire

Elgin, Scotland

I can't recommend the website highly enough, the work is just lovely.  I now have to visit Coventry Cathedral sometime as well because he worked on the design of the stained glass windows, when the new Cathedral was built after the original was destroyed in the Blitz.  The images of the windows look magnificent.

Don't you just love re-discovering artists and their work? 

Roll on next week! x

I like birds...

I gave spent the weekend trying to come up with ideas for Christmas cards. The pictures have been copied from images found in books but I really enjoyed doing them. I am getting more and more relaxed with my drawing skills now, but really feel I need to loosen up quite a bit! I want to get much more flowy and free with my drawing. I try to put far too much detail in and fiddle around when I should stop.

Until I began this process of rediscovering my creative self, I had forgotten how graphic my art is. When I did my art foundation course (in the late 1980s) I focused on fine art. I feel now I should have focused on graphics. Why did nobody tell me?

Anyway, here are a couple of coloured pencil and ink studies I came up with as card ideas, I'm not going to use these but I quite like the studies anyway. I shall post the actual card design, after I have sent them out to friends and family!

I am also posting an ink and watercolour study I did of some pebbles. I love rubble! If I had been clever at science at school, I would have loved to have studied geology. But I wasn't, so I satisfy myself with a sizeable rubble collection. The picture is of fossils, pebbles, sea-glass and ceramics, found on beaches in Yorkshire and Northumberland.

When I have a minute I will design myself a better banner - the one I have at the moment is rubblish!!

Baby steps...

Here is a basic little picture I have produced of the old lighthouse at Flamborough on the Yorkshire coast. It is going to be a thank you card for my sister-in-law, who spends half her life there, I do hope she likes it!

I have had my day off from my 'proper' job and have spent as much of my time as possible producing some still life work, and trying to learn to use my paints a little better. I really wish I had kept a hand in with my drawing over the last few years, but sadly I have been rolling along with the rat-race, feeling that art work was far too luxurious a thing to be spending my free time on when other jobs needed to be done. When I get the chance I will scan some pictures and upload them - maybe this coming weekend. I hope that as the weeks and months pass, there will be a noticeable improvement in my work!

Many years ago I was self employed, producing hand-painted fabrics and textiles along with a very good friend I met at art college. Our business did well, on paper, but we never managed to earn enough to actually give ourselves any kind of livable wage. It's a sad fact that that's just how it is for many creative people. So, the art gear was packed away, only to be dusted down a couple of times and never with any serious thought to trying to pursue a living out of it again. I think my confidence had taken a rather large battering too. But life is too short to let that govern your life.

However, I'm older and (a little) wiser and, am looking to hopefully begin to earn from my art work again. If I can just get enough to pay the mortgage and the bills, that would be a wonderful start. We'll see. For now I won't give up the day job!